Industry Leaders To Outline Challenges, Opportunities For Independent Operators
PITTSBURGH, February 27, 2018 – The American Cable Association’s 25th Anniversary Summit will showcase industry leaders who will report on the future of content production and distribution in the traditional pay-TV sector and exploding online environment. The discussion will take place on Wednesday, March 21, from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington D.C.
“Branching Out: The Impact of Content Development” will chart the course of content development and distribution and feature analysis and dialogue into the changing dynamics of the business as seen through the eyes of network executives. Paul Maxwell, CEO of Media-Max Advisors, will moderate the discussion, which will feature two of our industry’s biggest programming veterans Bridget Baker, CEO, Baker Media Inc., and Tom Rogers, Executive Director, WinView, and ACA’s good friend and partner, Rich Fickle, CEO & President of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC).
“With not only video-centric OTT players like Netflix, YouTube and Hulu driving broadband consumption, but also legacy media growth and consolidation, ACA members want to learn as much as possible about where these content owners and providers are headed. I’m certain that industry veterans like Bridget Baker, Tom Rogers and Rich Fickle, prompted by intriguing questions from Paul Maxwell, will produce a stimulating and informative discussion on the key issues,” ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.
Baker was a co-founder of CNBC and NBCU’s first president of TV Networks Distribution. Bridget is credited with building from inception the company’s $5 billion subscription revenue business and she directed acquisitions such as USA, Telemundo, Bravo and SyFy.
As the former CEO of TiVo, Rogers has operated at the nexus of media, technology and public policy for more than three decades. Today, he continues to innovate within the media landscape at WinView, which provides a new way to watch and interact with sporting events. Tom also serves as Chairman of Frankly, Inc., a publicly traded company that manages the digital and mobile news outlets for local broadcast stations and cable operators throughout the U.S.
Fickle had led the 840-member NCTC since July, 2011. He is a 35-year industry veteran who has worked extensively with a broad array of cable operators, programmers, studios and technology providers. Previously, Rich worked for Ascent Media and served in several executive leadership positions, most recently as Senior Vice President of Cable/Telco VOD and TVE Services for Deluxe Entertainment.
Maxwell was the founder and CEO of Media Business Corp. (MBC), which provided the cornerstone of competitive intelligence for the global media marketplace as well as custom research and analysis. MBC’s assets were sold to SNL Financial and are now part of S&P Kagan. Maxwell has started and/or run some 40-plus publications, ranging from CATV Newsweekly to Colorado Magazine to CableVision to Multichannel News and CableFAX. He currently contributes an irregular column to Jack Myers’ MediaVillage.com.
The ACA Summit is a truly special event that allows small and midsize cable operators that connect hometown America to engage with leading lawmakers and regulators as well as media representatives that report on communications policy in Washington, D.C. Created in the early 1990s, the ACA Summit gives independent cable operators a vehicle for framing the diverse and complex issues in their own words during dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill and with regulators at the Federal Communications Commission.
The theme for this year’s ACA Summit is “Standing The Test Of Time,” a statement indicative of the endurance and dedication shown by independent operators over many years in creating a collective voice in Washington. Over the course of ACA’s history, the independent cable community always embraced the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, who said, “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
The ACA Summit website includes event details and secure online registration. Please visit the ACA Summit 2018 website by clicking here: ACA Summit. The event will take place at the Grand Hyatt, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.This year’s Summit includes the annual “fly-in” to Washington with its members and, as such, will use the Twitter hashtag #Summit25 for all social media about the event. You can also track ACA Summit news on Twitter by following @ACASummit
About the American Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 750 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for nearly 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit https://acaconnects.org/